A Guide to Suiting Alterations

2017 Update: We still stand by the advice below on suiting alterations for women, but you can also check out our most recent post on tailoring alterations for women!

We’ve talked a bit about tailoring, but what are the top alterations you should be thinking about with a suit? Today’s guest poster, Jean from ExtraPetite, was nice enough to write up her guide to suiting alterations at the tailor, including fit tips, estimated cost, difficulty level, and more. Enjoy! – Kat

For many professional women, suit shopping can be a daunting task. Our bodies are unique and varied, so it’s tough to find a perfect fit right off the racks of mainstream retailers. A good tailor can take that store-bought suit to the next level – from a decent suit, to a power suit that will help you exude confidence and class.

Whether it’s a tiny tweak or a major overhaul – I’ve done it all. I’m here to share my alterations guide with fellow women who are walking around in a less-than perfectly fitting suit.

BlazersTaking-in ShouldersFit tips: Your blazer should be fitted across your shoulders, but not stretched taut. There should be ample room to lift/move your arms around without pulling on the jacket. The shoulder seam of the blazer should also not jut out past your own shoulders. Taking in the shoulders of a jacket is best done by a skilled tailor, preferably one that has worked with custom suiting.Alteration Cost: $40+Difficulty level: High

Altering the SidesFit tips: If you are curvy, shop for jackets that accommodate your widest point –whether it’s your shoulders or chest—and then have areas like the waist tailored down to fit. When fully buttoned and worn over a long sleeve shirt, a blazer should graze your torso. It should not be snug, and the front buttons should show no signs of pulling. Jackets typically should not be taken-in or let out more than 1 dress size (if there is even enough fabric at the seams), as the garment proportions can be thrown off.Alteration Cost: $25+Difficulty level: Medium.

Altering Blazer LengthFit tips: This is a difficult alteration that I try to avoid while shopping for blazers. Anything longer than the hipbones may risk truncating your legs. Shorter-legged women can benefit from cropped length blazers. Longer-length “boyfriend” blazers that hit in the upper thigh area are chic over jeans and dresses, but less appropriate for professional environments.Alteration Cost: $40+, depends on lining and complexity.Difficulty level: High. My tailors flat-out refused to alter the length of my blazers.

Altering Sleeve LengthFit tips: My personal preference for sleeve length is an inch past the wrist bone when arms are resting naturally. When getting fitted at the tailors, raise your arms to chest level to make sure the new length won’t be too short.Alteration Cost: ~$25.Difficulty level: Low, unless there are sleeve vents and/or button details.

Skirts & PantsAltering the Waist/HipsFit tips – Skirts: For women who have equally proportioned torso and legs, skirts tend to look best starting at the natural waist (I use my belly button as a reference). For women with shorter torsos, the skirt can sit lower on the hips to balance out the proportions. For women with longer torsos, a higher-waisted skirt may be more flattering.Fit tips – Pants: If only tiny tweaks are needed, the tailor can make the alterations from the back center seam. If more than half an inch needs to be altered, then the tailor should work from both sides to preserve the proportions of the pants.Alteration Cost: ~$25Difficulty level: Medium, dependent on details such as side pockets, a side zipper, or seams and pleats.

Pants – Tailoring the LegsFit tips: Shop for bottoms that accommodate the width of your thighs, and get the waist taken in, if necessary. A common issue I observe on women are pants that are too snug across the crotch and thighs, which causes pulling and creases. If you are petite on the bottom and tend to swim in your pants, have a tailor slim the legs and taper them to your curves.Alteration Cost: $25Difficulty level: Medium, dependent on details such as side pockets, a side zipper, or seams and pleats.

HemFit tips – Skirts: If your thighs are longer than your calves, above-the-knee may be more flattering. If you are long-calved, then you can probably pull off at or below-the-knee skirts.Fit tips – Pants: Bring your favorite heels to the tailors. With shoes on, pant length should be approximately an inch from the ground. Too long will drag, and too short will break the lengthening effect of long pants.Alteration Cost: $10+, more if there’s lining.Difficulty level: Easy

Check out more of Jean’s thoughts on alterations on her blog, ExtraPetite!

Readers, what alterations do you have your tailors make? Any fun stories (of success or disaster) to share?

Comments

This is really helpful. My only disagreement is on the length of the pants — it really depends on the cut of the leg. My preference is that wide, trouser and flared legs should be lower to the ground (I do 1/2″ only); I think you have more leeway with straight legs. I recommend the blog “You Look Fab” for more advice on this, do a search for “perfect pant length.”

Ditto – I prefer lower to the ground pant length – otherwise they look high-watery. In addition, pants tend to shrink UP with dry cleaning as well as regular washing, so I like to get them a little long knowing that they will shrink when cleaned.

I really love the ExtraPetite blog – excellent content, photos, advice and style.
Except… I’m 5’10, and desperate to find a similar blog devoted to professional clothing/style for tall women. Does anyone know of such a blog?

Best thing to do (as that’s a little specific) is to post exactly what information it is you are looking for in relation to those schools. Someone here might be able to answer them, despite not being alums.

I know one person who went to Baltimore Law. She is not a stupid person, but unfortunately, she is not a great test taker — I don’t know exactly what her LSAT score was, but I know that it was not good (as in, she was not sure if she would get in to ANY law school). And then, to make matters way, way, way worse, she failed the bar exam on her first attempt.

A sample of one is hardly what you should base your decision on… but…. well, you certainly need to take a good, hard look at the numbers.

Anyway, you should be able to find tons of information on the schools websites/US News/etc.

I kind of agree with this, sadly. I also wouldn’t go unless I could get a sizeable amount paid for through scholarships or prior savings so I wouldn’t have to take on much debt. And I say this as a top 10 school graduate with a big law salary and still wishing I didn’t have that debt burden over my head!

This. Top 20 law school former biglaw current in-house. I love my current job but not sure I would make the same choices if I had it to do all over again. Most likely not if I knew how slim the odds are that I would in fact end up where I am and how profoundly sizeable debt would impact my life choices.

Agree 100%. I would not consider law school unless you (a) can do so without incurring a great deal of debt OR (b) you can go to a top school (and are sure that you can handle BigLaw at least long enough to pay back any debt). Ideally, both.

This! I wouldn’t go to law school if you have to take it all out on loans. I’m lucky and my parents are helping me. Honestly, if they weren’t I would not be in law school. It can be financial suicide! I know some people who will likely have over $160K in debt, and they are not on the biglaw track.

@Mackie – I talked to some Georgetown 2Ls this summer. They’re taking out $75k/year in student loans. It just took my breath away. A quarter mil in student loan debt, and interest rates are worse now than when I was in law school. Unconscionable.

@Herbie, WOW! At first I thought it was $75K total! I wonder how this will affect the availability of student loans in the future since there are very few jobs out there, and I doubt everyone will be able to pay them back. Possibly another problem like the mortgage crisis.

Also agree. I want to add a (c) though — that you really want to be a lawyer and aren’t doing this as a stopgap because you can’t think of what else to do. It’s a huge investment on uncertainty.

I also want to point out that hiring is down everywhere. Even T14 schools are having trouble placing their grads. So if you decide to go (hopefully following the above advice and only going if you want to be a lawyer and you’re either going to a T14 or going for next to nothing), make sure you work your butt off and get the best grades possible so as to have a chance at Big Law. Other than working for the government (which is really hard to do in this economy), Big Law is the only way to really pay down your huge debt. And Big Law just isn’t hiring like they used to.

At the risk of putting words in JC’s mouth, I believe she was referring to higher-paying/higher-demand niche markets (as the ones she listed are). While it is admirable that you have a specific area you’d prefer to practice, I wouldn’t call that a niche market in this sense. Almost any law grad can hang a shingle (or join a firm) as do elder law work, while patent law requires a specific degree and a specialized bar, and tax law is also very competitive and skews toward the (small amoung lawyers) segment of the population that is good with accounting.

Also agree with Herbie. As a side note, elder law doesn’t really pay a lot, so if you have to take out loans, I wouldn’t do it. The best bet if you really want to practice elder law (you may change your mind when you get in there!) is to go to the best school you get into on a full scholarship, as most elder law is practiced in small firms, and you won’t have to worry about loans. Beware though – a lot of scholarships are contingent on you ending up in the top third of the class — which is a LOT harder than it sounds. If you dip below after your first year, you could lose your scholarship.

Your GPA and LSATs only matter to the law school. If those get you into a great law school with scholarships, no harm. If those don’t, no one after you apply to law school cares about either of those things. GPA, without a school attached, is also irrelevant. At some schools, that is a very good GPA. At others, it isn’t. It also matters what your major is.
I went to a top 30 law school, had a scholarship that covered a good portion of tuition, and graduated long before the economy tanked. I am lucky. I don’t think I could be successful if I graduated in today’s market.

Those will get you into UB, and maybe UMD, which has gotten much more competitive. The scores are definitely in range for UMD admission, but because of the price, more people are applying because it is one of the schools where you can still get out and your loan amount less than your first year salary if you get in BigLaw or one of the big regionals …

I mean this in the nicest way possible, but if you have to ask these kind of questions on a random blog, and weren’t resourceful enough to figure them out with a quick google search, law school is probably not for you.

Well, I’ll be blunt, then – until reading your post, I didn’t know that they had law schools. Granted, I’ve never lived in Maryland or the DC area, and if I had, that could certainly change my response. But do they have a national reputation (in my opinion, based on my experience)? No. So, consider that.

Those are not good schools. Big name employers do not hire out of those schools unless you are in the top handful (probably 3) of students, and maybe not even then. Can you work in elder care afterwards though? Sure, probably. But take a long hard look at the math – how much does it cost? How much will you be making? Is there a job you could be doing in the meantime (perhaps even working with the elderly) that would earn you nearly as much without the explicit cost of law schoolhttps://corporette.com/2010/03/23/our-commenting-policy/ and without delaying your wage earning by three years?

oh, was this a you’re thinking about going there question? I wouldn’t unless you’re getting heavy financial aid. Job market is still terrible even for top 10 (or 15 or whatever your arbitrary cut off is) schools.

Alum, so anon for this. Do not go to Baltimore unless you have no other options. Most of the big firms won’t say it out loud, but they will not consider non-Order of the Coif from UB. Actually they will say it out loud, as my former managing partner did just that, and it was commonly known. The thought is that UB focuses on the more practical lawyering skills, whereas UMD teaches more theoretical. There is value in both, to be sure, but the common thought is you can teach someone to draft, but you can teach them to think…. Probably not fair, but that is the reality….

UMD is a good school, steadily climbing up the charts with a new Dean who is doing a really good job securing dollars, which translate into better experience. The new building (opened in 2003ish) is state of the art, and UMD has some very highly ranked programs and their clinic is outstanding. If your intention is to stay in Baltimore, UMD is the way to go as every firm, big and small, has at least 1 UMD Alum. The DC and NY markets are also opening up, and the last decade of mergers and growth have exposed UMD lawyers to those markets and it has been a positive experience. UMD doesn’t have the portability of say, a Georgetown, but its 1/3 the cost. As for the local law schools in the MD/DC/NoVa area, besides Georgetown, you will get the best bang for your buck at UMD if you are in-state. I had a great law school experience at UMD, so if you insist on going to law school (there are certainly other considerations to be made on entering the profession now) you can’t go wrong at UMD.

I graduated from law school May 2010, and I took the LSAT a full year before I even applied to law school, so I’m a bit behind on the law-school-admissions-world…but if you are looking at a 170LSAT and 3.56 UGPA and seriously thinking about UBaltimore? For real? Is there any specific reason why? Or have I just been out of the game for that long that things have changed THAT much?

LSAC had a handy-dandy tool where you could put in your UGPA and LSAT and it would calculate your chances of getting in a each law school. I would recommend you do that if you don’t have a specific, personal, non-business reason to go to one school over another.

I disagree about cropped jackets, based on personal experience. I am most definitely pear-shaped, and look best in jackets that have a defined waist and that end around my hipbone, or even shorter. Longer jackets tend to look boxy on me and really don’t do anything for my figure.

This. I am a clear pear shaped woman and short cropped jackets ALWAYS look better on me than longer jackets. The defined waist of a short cropped jackets helps establish my slender waist. Longer jackets are generally not flattering on me–they are manageable from the front but make me look big/chubby from the back.

This post is very timely. I just bought four pieces of the Talbots seasonless wool suit (dress, skirt, pants and jacket). The first three items were in the store, but the jacket had to be ordered and shipped to me. So I did what I always do, left the other three items in the trunk of the car until the jacket arrived. Once it did, I grabbed it, my shoes, hose and blouse and headed to the seamstress for an assessment. If the jacket isn’t right, the whole thing goes back. She proclaimed the shoulders fit properly and only the bust needed to be taken in. Ditto for the dress (plus hem, I am very short). The pants needed the waist taken in and the length hemmed. The skirt was fine. All in: $56 of alterations and a custom-fit four piece suit. But there have been many suits I loved that didn’t pass the seamstress “it fits” test and that I have returned.

I learned the importance of proper tailoring in my early 20s from my then sister-in-law who was a banking executive and about 12 years my senior. Very important lesson for which I am still grateful.

PSA re the seasonless suiting: yes, the pants are unlined. The other items are fully lined.

PSA re Talbots: 20% off in-store every day if you can produce ID that shows you are a teacher/professor.

I am finishing up my 150 hours this semester, and need some advice if there are any accountants out there.

I am going through the on-campus recruiting process, with my first interviews next week. For those of you who went through this process, what should I expect? I am starting to have anxiety dreams about the kinds of questions they will ask me, and I’m wondering what I need to be focused on preparing– technical knowlegde, typical “behavioral” questions, random factoids about the firms, etc.

I am a CPA but its been nearly 20 years since I finished school and took the exam so I’m not sure I have any useful advice for you. I will say that just this weekend I was telling my DH that I thought that if I had to go back 20 years and start over again in college I would choose the same career path. Keep us posted.

I’m a CPA, graduated w BS in 2008 and MBA in 2010. Went through the recruiting process during my junior year (for a winter internship) and senior year (FT position). I interviewed with big 4, large regional, local CPA firm, and fortune 500’s. The interview all depends on what type of firm you’re interviewing with.

Big 4 and regional – They want to know about your schooling, make sure you’re willing to work until 2am 6 days a week, and ability to work as a team. They don’t care about what you want to do b/c they will just put you in whatever practive area they want. You have to be able to “bs” the partner, if it gets that far. They are looking at your social skills and mannerisms.

Local CPA firm – want to know about all aspects of your life, what area you are interested in (tax vs. audit vs. consulting) and your commitment to the area (many jump ship within a year).

Fortune 500 – You will be sweating! I had to do a financial analysis on the spot and then had to work on a team “project” with recruiters watching every move. Very intimidating!

If you have an internship focus on what you learned and how you grew. You can talk about mistakes you made and how you fixed them. If you didn’t have any internships – good luck and be ready to have a good reason for why you didn’t. Also, bring your transcript. I found that having a copy for the recruiter put me above everyone who didn’t. Lastly research the firms and partners – firm websites are great sources. Visit goingconcern dot com and another71 dot com for more info!

I ended up getting offers from all types of firms, but went with the regional firm.

Sending out those 100+ clerkship applications this weekend really paid off! I received two e-mails today regarding setting up interviews! Does anyone have any advice or tips for interviewing for state level judicial clerkships? TIA

I did it, and my best advice would be to make sure that you’re being someone that they would really want to work with. Be really nice and friendly to the secretaries/other staff , be friendly and outgoing and confident. One thing about working with judges is that they’re somewhat limited on how they can interact with people, so it’s really important to them to have people in their office who all get along and are easy to talk to. Also, at least in the office in which I clerked, grades carry a lot of weight, so if yours are less then stellar, be ready to explain and try to make up for it in other experiences.

Good luck! I clerked at the state trial court level and it was a fantastic experience. I know that federal carries more “prestige”, but I think that I got a much better experience, both in terms of enjoying it and in terms of just what I learned, working for that court.

My favorite part is the description: “Just say no to stuffy suits” !!! Um, right.

Confession: I actually think this one is kind of adorable. And I think the leather and taffeta suit is kind of pretty too. I can’t imagine where I would ever wear either one of them, but I like them in the abstract.

@MissJackson – I agree, I think this “suit” is actually super cute. I can’t imagine circumstances in which I could wear it, and quite frankly I have serious doubts about my personal ability to carry such a thing off in the first place.

Threadjack Rant- I skipped my “optional” department fall blowout (this is during lunchtime) and of course some of the assistants were making snide remarks about me and the other skippers. Do these people not get that it is abnormal to be hitting employees up for monetary contributions for guests of honor gifts and then later on harassing them about what food items they are bringing? Not to mention, who gives gifts to every single person in the department yearly? Why should I have to fund a gift for someone I don’t really know? I finally decided to put my foot down and say no.

It’s a seasonal birthday party. I’m not talking a casual potluck either- people spend hours planning and decorating and then harass people an inform them they are bringing X or Y dish. Management has emphasized time and time again that these are optional, but usually only a few people bow out each time.

Does anyone else have issues with “square shoulders” in suit fitting (ie, shoulders that don’t slope very much from the neck to the edge of the shoulder)? I have a lot of issues with fitting suit jackets, but this is one of the more annoying ones for me. It makes the collars of jackets kind of stand up around my neck so that it looks like I have no neck. I wondering if it would be possible to take the shoulder pads out or replace them with smaller ones to make suit jackets fit better…

Good point Bonnie. Since square shoulder adjustment is one of the unfortunate things that take more fabric, it pays to buy a jacket with shoulder pads and remove them. Easy, cheap, and works perfectly.

Threadjack — I have had a really busy week and would love to stay home this evening BUT tonight is 25% off at Cole Haan, 5-8. Last spring you ladies tipped me off to the green Kendra bag, which I adore. Anything you have your eyes on now that should get me off the couch?

Also, did anyone else get one of the Kate Spade bags in tangerine? It is BRIGHT. How are you liking it?

Great post, thanks. I’m 5’2″, and learned the hard way not to buy these items unless they come in petite sizes: suits, jackets, sweaters, long-sleeved shirts, dresses, coats, pants. The sizes still aren’t always perfect, but it makes any alterations easier and cheaper.

I’ve driven myself batty as of late searching for the perfect fit in suits. About a month ago, I decided that while perfect-fitting suits do exist, I don’t have the time to go hunting through that haystack. I now have a stockpile of 3 new suits and 2 new dresses to take to the tailor. Not looking forward to that bill…

Two thoughts: Re trouser hems, I’ll be the fashion outlaw here and advocate for a higher hem than suggested. Instead of taking my favorite heels to the tailor’s, I’ll bring my favorite loafers — the very Franco Sarto loafers that the narrator in The Devil Wears Prada mocks — and have the pant hems done to about an inch off the floor from there. That way I have flexibility with those trousers: I can wear them to court with the suit jacket, a court-appropriate shirt, and heels; or I can wear them with a more casual top and the loafers on Friday.

Second thought: I always mentally add $30 to $50 to the cost of a suit because of the alterations I always need. I take a petite size in trousers/skirts; and even though I take a regular size in jackets due to my long torso, I need the sleeves shortened ’cause I’m just proportioned a little oddly. My point, and I have one, is that I love-love-love the TPS suit suggestions, but when the jackets start at like $398 and the trousers are $250, it kills me when I consider that I’m gonna have to add another $50 to the price! :)

I hesitate to take things to the tailor because my weight fluctuates. I’m afraid of getting something taken in on a “skinny” day and then having it too tight on “bloated from too many dinners out” day. Although when I do have pants taken in (at the hips), I’m usually happy with the results and kick myself for not doing it more often.

Anyone have good websites that show with pictures what fit problems look like and what can be fixed by a seamstress and what cannot? I often try things on and know that they don’t fit right, but am frequently uncertain if it can be fixed.